First: As a prayer-answering God. "O Thou that hearest (i.e., answerest) prayer." That this title belongs to Him as He appears in human life, is (1) Suggested by universal consciousness. There is no law in the material world more obvious, more regular, and inviolable than the tendency of the human soul to pray. The element of prayer is an ineradicable part of human nature as universal as man. The existence of this justifies the belief that the God of humanity is a prayeranswering God. For would He, who is the essence and the fountain of all love, implant in the hearts of His children a desire for that which is absolutely and for ever unattainable? That this title belongs to Him is (2) Proved by the universal experience of the good. Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Hezekiah, Daniel, and a long catalogue of others prayed and received answers. So in all ages. That this title belongs to Him is also (3) Declared by the mouth of God Himself. "Call upon me in the day of trouble," etc. "Ask, and ye shall receive," etc. He does not always,-perhaps seldom,-answer the prayer in the way which the suppliant sought; still, if the suppliant is made to bow submissively to His will, He receives an answer that involves all good. "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of." He is presented to us,Secondly: As a man-needed God. "Unto Thee shall all flesh come." What is the security for this? That force in the human soul to which we have already referred, that is made to crave after God, will, when universally roused, send all men to Him. Then there are external circumstances. In the presence of a great danger, a great sorrow, a great grief, men hasten to God. "Those who go down to the sea in ships, and do business in great waters; in their distress they cry unto the Lord," etc. Prayerless men! you may try to keep away from Him, but every such attempt must eventually prove futile. Sooner shall the Mississippi keep away from the ocean, or the earth from circling round the sun, than your soul keep away from your Maker. Conscious contact is inevitable; but this contact may be either a blessing or a curse. He is here presented to us,— Thirdly: As a sin-removing God. "As for our transgressions, Thou shalt purge them away." "Our transgressions," they are our curse, they are a burden that will crush us, a disease that will work out our ruin. Who shall rid us of them? God, and God alone. "Come now, let us reason together." "Let the wicked forsake his ways." In this aspect He appears in human history. In Christ "He is reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." He is here presented to us, Fourthly: As a world trusted God. "Who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea. Observe, (1) All men require some object to trust in. They are not only dependent but consciously dependent, and they must lean on something. (2) Their condition, whether happy or otherwise, depends on the object they trust. The great misery of man is, that he rests on the unworthy, the changeable, and the insecure. (3) The only safe object of trust is God. He is the "confidence of all the ends of the earth." Hence all on sea and land who would be happy must trust in Him. Such is God as He appears in human history, a prayeranswering, a man-needed, a sin-removing, and a world-trusted God. The words reveal, II. God as He appears in human history, WORSHIPPED. Observe, First: The kind of worship. "Praise waiteth for Thee, O God, in Zion." Are we to understand "waiteth,” as indicating preparation for it? Then worship requires preparation of soul. Are we to understand it in the sense of becometh? Then worship is a most congruous and proper exercise. Or are we to understand it in the sense of silence? Then the essence of worship is silent-it is in the profoundest thoughts, the deepest feelings, the strongest aspirations, which are independent of language or sound. The deepest things of the soul are unutterable. Secondly: The blessedness of worship. "Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest and causest to approach unto Thee," etc., etc. The idea is, fellowship with God, going into His courts, dwelling in His temple. (1) The fellowship is chosen. "Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest." Utterly impossible would it be for man to hold fellowship with God, unless God chose it. What a distinction is thus put on man! No other creature in the world can hold fellowship with the Infinite. (2) The fellowship is permanent. "Dwell in Thy house." Not a mere visitant for a terminable period. But a resident so long as existence endures. (3) The fellowship is satisfying. "We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house." This is, and nothing else, the satisfaction of the soul. "In Thy presence is fulness of joy." CONCLUSION.-Adore God as He appears in human history. "This God shall be my God for ever and ever; He shall be my Guide even unto death." HOMILETIC SKETCHES ON THE BOOK OF JOB. The Book of Job is one of the grandest sections of Divine Scripture. It has never yet, to our knowledge, been treated in a purely Homiletic method for Homiletic ends. Besides many learned expositions on the book found in our general commentaries, we have special exegetical volumes of good scholarly and critical worth; such as Drs. Barnes, Wemyss, Mason Goode, Noyes Lee, Delitzsch, and Herman Hedwick Bernard: the last is in every way a masterly production. For us, therefore, to go into philology and verbal criticism, when such admirable works are available to all students, would be superfluous, if not presumption. Ambiguous terms, when they occur, we shall of course explain, and occasionally suggest an improved rendering; but our work will be chiefly, if not entirely, Homiletic. We shall essay to bring out from the grand old words those Divine verities which are true and vital to man as man in all lands and ages. These truths we shall frame in an order as philosophic and suggestive as our best powers will enable us to do; and this in order to help the earnest preachers of God's Holy Word. No. LXX. to pay attention to what he is going to say. The Second Speech of Elihu addressed to the Three Friends.-1. A Threefold Subject of Thought. "FURTHERMORE ELIHU ANSWERED AND SAID," etc.-Job xxxiv. 1–15. EXEGETICAL REMARKS: Ver. 1."Furthermore Elihu answered and said." It would seem as if Elihu had paused for a reply from Job, But as no such reply came, he begins again, and calls upon Job's friends, who were present. Ver. 2.-"Hear my words, O ye wise as the mouth [margin, "palate"] tasteth meat." He means, that as food cannot be pronounced to be pleasant or otherwise until it has passed through the ordeal of the palate, the discourse cannot be appreciated until it has been tried by the ear, or the understanding. Ver. 4.-"Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good." As if he had said, Let us select among the conflicting opinions advanced what will stand the test of examination. Amongst ourselves, let us see what is good, and come to an understanding. Ver. 5.-" For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment." Job had virtually said this. (See chaps. xiii. 18; xxvii. 2, 4, 5.) Ver. 6. -"Should I lie against my right?" Nowhere do we find these words as uttered by Job. Is this Elihu's slander, or is it his honest interpretation of the drift of Job's utterances? 66 My wound is incurable without transgression." Nowhere can I find Job maintaining his absolute perfection; but everywhere he insists that his sufferings were not to be taken as a test of his character. For "wound" the margin reads, " arrow." The instrument of the suffering put for the suffering itself. Ver. 7.-" What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water?" Elihu means to say that Job was as full of scorning and scoffing as a man is brimful of water who has had his fill. Ver. 8.-" Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity, and walketh with wicked men." What he means probably is, that Job made common cause with the wicked by taking up their sentiments. Ver. 9.-"For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God." He states this as a proof that Job went with the wicked in his sentiments, for it is the leading characteristic of all wicked men that they regard religion as worthless and unprofitable. Ver. 10." Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that He should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that He should commit iniquity." In the margin "men of understanding" is rendered, "men of heart," meaning, however, the same thing. Far be it from entering any man's mind, that God is capable of wickedness or iniquity. God cannot do wrong. Ver. 11.-" For the work of a man shall He render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways." "No indeed, man's work He re- And according to man's walk The Governor of the Universe is Ver. 12.-" Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment." This is a repetition of the idea in the former verse. Ver. 13.-"Who hath given Him a charge over the earth? or who hath disposed the whole world?" Who hath given the earth in His charge, and who hath disposed the whole globe? He is the Creator and Proprietor of the universe, is responsible to no one, and has no motive for doing wrong. Ver. 14, 15.—"If He set His heart upon man, if He gather unto Himself his spirit and his breath; all flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust." There are different interpretations of this passage. With some it means, If God sets His heart upon doing a thing, it will be done. With others it means, that if He dealt strictly with men according to their characters, all would be destroyed. With others it means, If God merely regarded Himself, set His heart upon Himself (as is the translation of Delitzsch), consulted merely His own welfare, He would live and reign alone, and leave the universe to sink to ruin. With others it means, that man has no right to complain of the Divine procedure, for if the Infinite chose, He could reduce the whole earth to desolation. Who art thou that repliest against God? HOMILETICS.-It must be noticed that Elihu here turns away from Job and addresses himself to the three friends, bespeaks their attention, and claims their judgment for the impartial investigation of his statements. There are three subjects of thought here: the judicial faculty of man's mind, the moral imperfections of man's character, and the transcendent glories of man's God. We shall notice these thoughts with great brevity. I. THE JUDICIAL FACULTY OF MAN'S MIND. The address of Elihu to the three friends implies two things concerning this faculty, "For the ear trieth words First: Its independent existence. as the mouth tasteth meat." The idea seems to be, that just as man has a palate by which to test the quality of his food, he has a judiciary faculty within him by which to test the truth and falsehood of statements, the right or wrong of (1) There is under principles of action. Who doubts this? standing. By this doctrines are brought into comparison with what is commonly called common sense. With this, man tries all abstract truth, whether it come to him in the form of philosophy, mathematics, or science. There are certain principles within him independent of education, innate and ineradicable, which his understanding treats as the criteria of all truth. (2) There is experience. By a law of mind, he brings all outward facts to this test. Whatever does not chime in with what during his life he himself has observed, heard, thought, felt, he will not accept without further evidence. Hence all facts and all events that accord not with his experience, he keeps outside of him, he will not accept. Hence the reluctance of men to believe in miracles. (3) There is conscience. This is a faculty that concerns itself, not C |